Beach League Week 5

Because of the LA Times Festival of Books, I missed out on the fourth week of beach league, but it sounds like we barely lost one and won the other.  We kept our 50% record going strong this last Saturday.

The first game was a loss that ended at 7-13.  We played well, but not as well as we might have.

However, we came out strong that last game.  Unfortunately, we didn’t keep that going all the way and wound up barely winning the game at 15-14.  But a win is a win, right?

Unfortunately, that game wasn’t nearly as fun as it could have been since the wind picked up.  There had been a light wind all day, but it got progressively worse as the day went on until it was strong and constant for the last half of that game.  As it when you threw the disc, it was more luck than skill when a teammate caught it.  That wasn’t fun at all.  Points were long with tons of turn overs.  But at least we pulled the win out in the end.

On a personal note, I did score one of our points that last game, and got the D on another.  Both of those made me very happy.

Playing Around

Yes, I’m slightly backed up on posts here.  We need to finish talking about April 18^th and 19^th.

You see, I wasn’t content to just go to the LA Times Festival of Books both days.  I also went to plays both nights.

Saturday night, I went to see Dear Ruth at Glendale Centre Theatre.  It’s a romantic comedy set during World War II, and it was fun.  I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, but there were some wonderfully funny lines and situations along the way.  This was a last minute thing, but it worked best with my schedule and worked for my friend Angelique as well.

Sunday night, I went with my friend Brian to see Newsies at the Pantageous Theater.  I’ve become a fan of the movie, and was looking forward to seeing the play based on it.  They certainly made some changes from the movie, but I liked it.  It made me want to watch the movie again, which I haven’t gotten a chance to do – yet.  But I will soon, I hope.

LA Times Festival of Books 2015

This last weekend was the LA Times Festival of Books for the year.  It was a nice sunny weekend, a little hot on Saturday, but it was beginning to cool off Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately, this year, I went by myself.  Angelique couldn’t make it, which was a bummer.  But I still had a good time.  Plus I got to meet up with a fellow book blogger before everything started on Saturday.  We had fun chatting about our shared interest in books and blogging about them.

The rest of the weekend was spent wandering back and forth between the two favorite areas, the kid’s area and the mystery area.  I spent time talking to various authors and got some signatures.  I actually went to two of the panels that were on the middle grade/young adult stage and enjoyed both of them enough to buy the books by the various authors.

Normally, the crowds seem bigger on Saturday, but this year, it was the exact opposite.  Attendance was light on Saturday but there were a lot more people on Sunday.  I guess any big names they had were there on Sunday.  Personally, I had fun both days.

Word Association for April 21st

Let's do this week's word association.

1. Roller coaster :: Fun 
2. Yellow :: Blue
3. Humor :: Laugh
4. Parental :: Notification
5. Blow :: Back
6. Duck :: Quack
7. Height :: Depth
8. Wolf :: Howl
9. Troubling :: Development

Down and Dirty Mud Run 2015

So, why didn’t I play pick up ultimate on Sunday?  I’m very glad you asked.  I did a mud run Sunday morning instead.

Yes, that also means I skipped church.  (Bad, Mark.  Bad!)

This is one just up the road from me, and two friends wanted to do it with me, how could I pass it up?

Even with how close it is, I’ve only ever done it one other time (due to always being on a Sunday).  It was pretty much how I remembered it from two years ago, but that’s not a bad thing.  It was a lot of fun.  The hills are pretty tough, especially the last one, but the views from the top are spectacular.  Plus the inflatable slide is very fun.  The mud was a bit weak and runny, but that was a minor issue.

Due to the drought, they took out the ice plunge obstacle, which was no big loss at all.  Man, those can be cold!  They also had us clean off in the lake, which is honestly always my first choice.

The weather was warm, almost too warm, but the day was lots of fun.  All three of us enjoyed it, although we were tired when we were done.  Between how much I was out on Saturday and this on Sunday, I stayed home and got some things done Sunday afternoon.  So it was a crazy busy weekend, but it was also a fun weekend.

Word Association for April 16th

Time for this week's Word Association!

1. Science :: School
2. Everywhere :: God
3. Seed :: Grow
4. Comedian :: Funny
5. Philadelphia :: Pennsylvania
6. Disillusioned :: Orwell (just finished listening to 1984)
7. Rolls :: Dinner
8. History :: Interesting
9. Eagles :: Fly
10. Disappointed :: Result

A Day of Ultimate

Saturday was a day of ultimate Frisbee.  I started out by going to beach league.  We were down in numbers, unfortunately, and several of them were our key players.  We still made respectable showings, but we lost both games.  I was a handler again for some of the points I was playing, and I did a good job.  I’m not a good enough thrower most of the time, although not having to cut as much is a definitely plus.

I was happier with the score I got.  I was hanging out in the back of the end zone because all the activity was in other parts of the field.  My defender got drawn in to other action, and the thrower saw me and threw it to me.  Made my day.

After grabbing lunch down there, I headed home long enough to shower and then drive even further south.  (I really could have called this a day on the 405.)  Why?  To go to the season opener for the LA Aviators.  This is the new professional ultimate Frisbee team in Los Angeles.  Yes, it was a historic day, and I was there.  Yes, just a little excited.

I think nerves got to the team a bit after the first few points because they let the Seattle team get several points in a row.  In the second half, they matched them pretty much point for point, but couldn’t overcome that deficit.  The final score was 20-29.  Still, it was lots of fun to watch and cheer them on.  I found myself calling things I would from the sidelines of my league games.  It’s just that ingrained in me.  While I drove by myself, I hung out with some people I play pick up with on Sundays, and that was lots of fun.

No, I didn’t make it to pick up on Sunday this weekend.  Part of it was because I was so busy on Saturday I needed some time to myself.  But there was another reason, which I’ll talk about later in the week.  (Yes, this would be a To be Continued blog post.)

Beach League Week 2

We had perfect weather for beach league again this weekend.  This time, the sun stayed out the entire time and the wind was very low.  It was in the mid-70’s.  I mean, who could ask for a better day on April 4^th?

Our first game was against the team we hadn’t played yet – the other undefeated team.  Unfortunately, we lost to them.  However, we won the second game of the day at the very last moment with a 15-14 score, leaving us with a 3-1 record on the season so far.  I will definitely take it.

They had me playing handler a few points this week, and it went mostly well.  I did panic and overthrow one throw, but a different teammate was able to get it and pass it on for the score, so I won’t complain too loudly.

I jumped in the ocean between games and for a while after the second game, too.  The water was pretty warm for this time of the year.  Really, it was a great day.

Word Association for April Fool's Day

Time for this week's word association.

1. Twins :: Identical
2. Seven :: Lucky
3. Canceled :: Event
4. Video :: Evidence
5. Mistress :: Cheater
6. Puppy :: Cute
7. Sadness :: Depressed
8. Cleanse :: Juice
9. Impostor :: Fake
10. Fruitless :: Waste of Time